


Operation Neptune

by GloriaGilbertPatch



Series: Skirt Suits [2]
Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-25 11:10:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6192736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GloriaGilbertPatch/pseuds/GloriaGilbertPatch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>2x15 from Scottie's perspective.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Operation Neptune

**Author's Note:**

> After I wrote, "Play the Man," from Scottie's perspective, Natalie suggested that I do the same with, "Normandy." It was a bit trickier because of all the behind-the-scenes maneuvering, but overall I enjoyed writing it and I hope Natalie is pleased with it. I chose the title because, "Operation Neptune," was the code name for the invasion of Normandy. Once again, all references to real individuals, companies, or institutions should be taken as fictitious. Also once again, I am sure already that there are a ton of mistakes.

“I’m not sure about this, Dana,” Edward Darby said slowly, eyes moving over the document his young lieutenant had just handed him.

“Well, we need a US presence; that’s non-negotiable. And I think Pearson Hardman is an excellent choice for us,” Dana Scott assured him, her posture perfect, her hands folded as she stood opposite his desk.

“New York only.”

“For now,” Dana agreed with a shrug. “But Pearson Hardman practices nationwide out of New York, and eventually, when we’re settled and we have the capital, Los Angeles, Chicago, DC – they’re options, and easy ones.”

“And you want our entrée to be this case, this…class-action lawsuit. No, excuse me, this _de-certified class_ with plaintiffs scattered all over the country.”

“I do.”

“There’s no money in it, and you’re not a litigator.”

“I do just fine in court, thank you. And there _is_ money.”

“Not class-action money.”

“Yes, unfortunately, the plaintiffs will actually get some of the money themselves, but there’s still money in it for us, and besides, the point isn’t the money; it’s the opening. They’re in over their heads at the moment, and they really need a win. We bankroll the win, and we’re in.”

“Fine. I’ll approach Jessica Pearson.” He closed the folder and raised his eyebrows slightly. Dana laughed.

“Come on, I know you weren’t born yesterday. Let me sign this client and schedule meetings with a handful of others, and let _me_ handle the initial approach – but not with Jessica, with Harvey Specter. We need him to feel as if it’s his idea.”

“Harvey Specter. He’s the one who got Daniel Vega to fire you.”

“He is. He’s also an incredible rainmaker, the youngest person the firm has ever promoted to equity partner, and Jessica’s right hand. You want her, you need him.”

“And you’re certain that subterfuge is the appropriate way to get him?”

“Edward, if you came across Harvey lying in a ditch with one of his bones sticking out of his arm, and you said, ‘Here, Harvey, let me give you a ride to the hospital so you can see an orthopedic surgeon,’ he’d fight you on it. The man is illogical to the point of insanity when it comes to doing things that other people tell him to.”

“And yet you’re so convinced that we need to land him.”

“Well, he’s the best lawyer I know, after me.” She grinned. “And you.”

“You’re neglecting the most important reason,” Edward said, a thoughtful look spreading over his face.

“What do you mean? He’s a senior partner; he’s got a ton of high-fee clients; and he’s important to Jessica. Those seem pretty important to me.”

“Oh, they are. He’s a fine catch for any firm, I’m sure. But that’s not why he’s important to _you_.”

“I don’t know what you’re getting at, Edward. I mean, if you’re asking if we’re friends, the answer’s yes, but…”

“Dana, Dana, Dana, I’m disappointed in you. You’ve insisted that you’re ready, and quite frankly your track record is exceptionally impressive, especially for a person of your age, but if you want me to make you a name partner at this firm, I need you to be honest with me. You’re not just ‘friends’ with this man. You are in love with him.”

Dana shook her head ruefully.

“It’s that obvious?”

“My dear, I have known you for a decade, now. I _have_ learned something about you in that time.”

“I assure you, Edward, whatever my…feelings…for Harvey may be, this merger is a smart move. Pearson Hardman is a good fit for us.”

“And I believe you. I just worry that I’m about to be losing _my_ right hand, that’s all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if you love this Specter person, I have to assume you’ll want to remain in New York after the merger goes through, and then where will I be?”

“I…don’t want us getting ahead of ourselves, all right? Let’s just focus on winning them over for now.”

“All right, then. You have my permission. You may sign this client and schedule meetings with the others. We’ll fly to New York tomorrow; I’ll have Maggie book the flights and the hotels. Oh, and Dana?”

“Yes?”

“Please, not a word of the merger talks to Mr. Specter, Ms. Pearson, or anyone else until I’ve made my decision. I’m phrasing this like a request, but it is in fact an order. Just so we’re clear.”

“Crystal.”

They nodded to each other, and Dana quietly left Edward’s to return to her own on the other side of the building.

Were they really going to do this?

She sat down at her desk and leaned back in her chair, her head turning to the side and her eyes traveling over the degrees and certificates on her wall, stopping on the multi-photo frame next to the diploma from Harvard. Four photographs, all in black-and-white: Dana on her twenty-fourth birthday, laughing with her law school friends; Dana arm-in-arm with her parents on Class Day; Dana, alone, wearing her robe and that extraordinarily stupid hat at commencement…and Dana, in a cable knit sweater that screamed, “autumn in New England,” with Harvey Specter’s arms around her and huge smiles on both their faces.

Truth was, the only one of the pictures she really wanted to look at was the one of Harvey, but for twelve long years she’d camouflaged him with all her other memories from Harvard. And it was time to get past that. Either he loved her, and he earned himself a frame of his own on the corner of her desk, or he didn’t – and she moved on, for real this time, to maybe a more deserving candidate than Steve.

She scrawled her name along the bottom of the engagement letter and stared at it for a moment before picking up the phone to get Linda to fax it to Bakersfield for her.

\--

The flight from London to New York was, as always, a little longer and less comfortable than she would have liked, but luckily Dana spent the time working on a tricky acquisition deal and thus was able to bill five of the seven hours. Edward nodded approvingly every so often when he looked over her shoulder, and he was _definitely_ making her a name partner when this was all over. They parted ways upon landing, and Dana’s driver greeted her with a smile. Once she’d settled into the car, she flipped through her contacts until she found Donna Paulsen’s direct line at Pearson Hardman.

“Good morning, this is Donna,” Harvey’s secretary said crisply on the other end.

“Hi, Donna, it’s Dana Scott,” she replied.

“Calling me instead of Harvey; that’s interesting. Hi, Scottie. What’s going on?”

“You know that client meeting Harvey has today with the plaintiffs in his gender-discrimination lawsuits against Folsom Foods?”

“Of course I do.”

“But you’re surprised I do.”

“Dana, when it comes to Harvey, nothing you know – and nothing you _do_ – surprises me.”

“Fair enough. Anyway. I’ve signed the Bakersfield plaintiffs, so instead of meeting with them…he’ll be meeting with me.”

“You’re in New York.”

“I should be at your offices in half an hour.”

“You do move fast.”

“True. Take care, Donna. It was nice to talk to you.”

She hung up before Donna could reply, not sure she wanted to listen to her hesitation. Dana had long known that Harvey had few, if any, secrets from his secretary, so the woman almost certainly knew about last time, and about Steve. God. That whole relationship had been such a mess.

The car pulled up outside Pearson Hardman’s offices and Dana got out, tipped the driver, and took a deep breath before squaring her shoulders and walking into the lobby. She gave her name to security and checked her smile when the guard nodded and wished her good luck in her meeting with Ms. Paulsen. She took the elevator up and nodded at reception as she walked straight over to the conference room on Harvey’s floor – at this point she knew the layout of Pearson Hardman’s offices as well as she did Darby & Cooke’s.

And, as always, the view was spectacular. Dana wasn’t necessarily a fan of all-glass offices, but she couldn’t deny the windows took her breath away. She stood in the conference room, facing the city, and checked the time. Excellent – Harvey would be here in three, two, one…

“Scottie,” he said, in a would-be casual voice.

“Harvey,” she answered, without turning around.

“How’s married life?”

“I wouldn’t know,” she replied, finally turning to face him.

“Divorced so soon?”

“I never took the plunge.” Her voice was cool as they looked at each other, and either Harvey’s poker face had changed drastically in the intervening year or he actually couldn’t hide his concern.

“Oh, get over yourself. I know I came here last time with cold feet and blubbered over you like a fifteen-year-old, but it wasn’t about _you_. It was about me.”

“So what’s it about this time?” he asked, clearly not buying it as he strode over.

“Bakersfield.”

“You are not taking my clients, Scottie.”

“We already did. Like taking candy from a little Harvard baby,” she mocked.

“You just said it wasn’t about me.”

“Bakersfield is everything, and I’ve got them. I’ve also got appointments with the rest, so I can spend time going after them and get twenty more, or you could let me have ten and we call it a day.” As if women would rather have _Harvey Specter_ representing them in a gender-discrimination suit. Dana knew perfectly well that Harvey, for all his issues with women, wasn’t particularly sexist – but any normal person would look at him and see a womanizing alpha male, and at Dana and see the rare woman who had managed to dominate in the incredibly demanding boys’ club of white-shoe corporate law. It would be _easy_.

“Well, why don’t I just give it all to you, my cases, office, my wallet, keys…” He fumbled in his pockets and Dana laughed. As if she didn’t already have his house key. As if she couldn’t already talk her way into his bank accounts, if necessary. And as for his office…well. She’d certainly left her mark the one time she’d been there.

“It’s not personal; it’s just business.”

“Yeah, my business.”

“Good business.”

“The answer is no,” he told her definitively.

“Well, there’s no harm in asking,” she said lightly. “It’s good to see you, though. You look great.” She paused and watched him preen. “A bit overworked, but…not bad for a guy your age.” Immediately he stared at her with a frown, and she _knew_ his fortieth birthday had hit him hard. She laughed at his expression and paused for a moment, almost as if she were going to kiss him, before walking out the door and directly towards Harvey’s office.

She walked straight in, and was fiddling with some of the crap on his desk, when suddenly a woman’s voice cut through.

“What do you want?” the woman snapped. Dana looked up to see Donna standing there, French press and teapot on a tray, looking at her with an expression far less friendly than she’d ever seen on Harvey’s secretary’s face before. “Coffee, tea?”

“I’m good, thanks,” Dana answered, carefully keeping her voice measured and pleasant.

“A woman who wants nothing – I distrust that.” Donna walked into the office to put the tray down, and Dana laughed slightly.

“Who said I want nothing?”

“Oh, no one’s ever said that about you.”

“Oh, what have they said?”

“‘They’?” Donna countered.

“You,” Dana admitted.

“My opinion matters to you?”

“Your opinion matters to him.”

“I’ve only ever said good things about you, Scottie,” Donna assured her, and her voice _sounded_ sincere, but –

“But what have you _thought_?

Donna stared at her for a long moment before speaking again.

“Just don’t screw with him,” she said finally.

“Don’t screw _with_ him, or don’t screw him?”

“Are you able to do one without the other?”

Dana opened her mouth but closed it as Harvey suddenly walked through the door to his office.

“The other what?” he asked, and the women looked at each other.

“I’ll leave you two to business,” Donna said, making her exit as Harvey took a seat.

“So, are you going to take me up on my offer, or you gonna fight me?” Dana asked teasingly, leaning over Harvey’s desk.

“You tell me,” he said, leaning back in his chair.

“I think neither,” she answered, smiling. “I think you want us to try the cases together and let my firm bankroll the litigation.

“Which is exactly what you wanted the whole time.”

No point in denying it. Attempting to outsmart each other was their little hobby, but there were never any hard feelings whether it did or didn’t work.

“You got me. We’ll start with Bakersfield.”

“You couldn’t just go for the direct approach?” he asked.

“You don’t respond to the direct approach, Harvey. You like to feel you come to things on your own.” Really, he had the introspective skills of a four-year-old.

“Which is why we’re not starting with Bakersfield.”

“It’s the clear choice,” she said sharply, turning away from the window.

“Exactly. You knew it; my first-year knew it; and so will Hardman.”

“I’m not afraid of Hardman,” she pointed out, offended.

“You should be. And _that’s_ why we’re going to Parkville.”

“You mean the one division with a female manager and the best ratio of women executives in the entire company?”

“No, I mean the one division where Hardman will never think to find us.”

“Because it’s the dumbest place to start and the hardest place to win,” she pointed out, walking towards him to emphasize her point.

“And when we win it, all the others will surrender.”

“What a surprise,” Dana said, warmth creeping into her voice despite herself as she braced herself against the glass top of Harvey’s desk and leaned towards him. “Harvey Specter wants to do things the hard way.”

“What a surprise,” he countered. “Dana Scott’s looking for the shortcut.”

“And what makes you think that he’s not going to find out that we’re not still going to Bakersfield,” she responded, unruffled.

“We’re still going to Bakersfield. We book a plane, a hotel, line up depositions there and in all seven cities.”

“That plan isn’t worthy of our kind of money. If you want to overwhelm Hardman, we go to all forty-five cities,” she told him, crossing her arms and perching on the shelves against his windows. Harvey’s smile spread, and Dana rolled her eyes slightly. “Which is exactly what you wanted the whole time.”

“You got me,” he said, and really, it was impossible even to be justifiably annoyed with him when he smiled at her like that, with an expression of such honest delight that all she wanted to do was kiss him senseless.

“I’ll take care of the flight,” she said, smiling back.

“You mean flights?”

“No, Donna and Linda and whichever secretaries are handling things for your contract attorneys can handle the rest. I’m talking about Edward’s Lear jet, which you and I will be taking to Parkville.”

Harvey raised his eyebrows, impressed despite himself, and…point, Dana.

\--

“Tell me you’re not having Lear envy,” Dana smirked as she walked back to her seat, two scotches in hand.

“It’s nice,” he said, accepting the drink, and she smirked again.

“Nice? Should we have taken your jet? Oh, wait. You don’t have a jet.” She perched on the edge of the seat and enjoyed watching Harvey go on the defensive.

“It’s hard to park them in Manhattan,” he said coolly, but his feathers were obviously ruffled.

“I forgot how provincial Pearson Hardman was,” she teased. “One office, one city.” She took a sip of her drink then, silently giggling at him.

“One office, _the_ city,” he corrected, now outwardly defensive. Dana smiled and shrugged.

“What?” he asked suspiciously.

“It just occurred to me.”

“Oh, let me guess. There’s an advantage to being on the same side.”

“Well, we don’t have to get the business out of the way before getting to the pleasure.” She spun his chair around and moved to stand between his legs.

“There’s also a disadvantage,” he insisted, but Dana just sank to her knees.

“Oh, let me guess, you have some rule,” she crooned, reaching for his tie.

“I don’t cook in my own kitchen,” he told her.

“You cook?”

“It’s a metaphor.” And a stupid metaphor, honestly – what’s the point of even having a kitchen if you’re not going to cook? – but it didn’t even matter; Harvey would cave. He always did.

“Yeah, I got that. But you’re in luck. We are _not_ in the same kitchen,” she purred, one by one unfastening the buttons on his vest

“We are on this case,” he insisted. Dana pulled away abruptly and enjoyed the sudden unhappiness on Harvey’s face more than she probably should have. He jumped to his feet and she immediately stripped off his jacket.

“Somebody didn’t read the paperwork,” she scolded, backing him towards the side of the plane.

“When do I ever read the paperwork?” Harvey jumped suddenly as Dana pushed closer to him, bracing one hand against the wall as her chest pressed up against his.

“We’re still separate entities; it’s just a combined legal action.” She leaned in even farther, almost kissing him, and Harvey backed up just a little more.

“Mmm, I like the sound of that,” he murmured.

“I was hoping you would,” she said with a smile, not giving an inch.

“Are you going to litigate me into sleeping with you?” he asked with an incredulity that she _might_ have believed had he not just clasped her hands and then released them to reach for her hips instead. Dana backed him up even further and got so close that their noses brushed against each other.

“I’m going to lead you right where you’re dying to go.” They both chuckled and he turned her around, pulling her ass into his crotch and unraveling the bow at the back of her blouse.

“How long until we land?”

“Long enough,” she assured him, arching her back.

“Combined legal action,” he declared, bending to press light kisses onto her shoulder.

“Mmm-hmm,” she said encouragingly.

“You know, wait. We didn’t decide who’s taking the lead on the deposition,” Harvey said suddenly, now taking his turn to walk her backwards.

“Well, we could rock, paper, scissors for it,” she said, spinning them around and pushing him down onto the sofa.

“Oho! Or we could do this,” he answered with a smile.

“How will we know who won?” she asked. Harvey stood back up and planted his hands on her waist. He spun them around again and, this time, pushed _her_ onto the sofa.

“Oh, we’ll know,” he assured her, and he bent over to finally, finally kiss her. She reciprocated eagerly, sucking his bottom lip into her mouth while simultaneously going to work on the buttons of his shirt. He moaned, and once she had the thing off she pulled him down to join her on the sofa. It was a little awkward – damned pencil skirt – but still, the weight of his body pressing her into the cushions was more intoxicating than the whisky they’d just drunk.

The skirt was clearly frustrating Harvey, though, as he rutted against her and attempted to slip his fingers under her belt, and while it was a little amusing Dana did want to get things moving along, so she gently pushed him off her, got to her feet, and removed her skirt herself. Her white blouse billowed around her hips when it came un-tucked, and she saw Harvey’s eyes drawn immediately to the lace tops of her thigh-high stockings.

“There’s nothing in the world quite like a woman’s thighs,” he remarked dreamily, and Dana rolled her eyes.

“Okay, Harvey,” she said with a teasing grin, coming back to the couch to straddle his lap and smiling a little wider at the way his eyes closed briefly as she pressed into his groin. She settled down onto her knees and laid her lips against his neck, slowly starting to suck in time with the gentle thrusts of her hips against his rapidly hardening erection. Harvey moaned and grabbed her ass, trying to speed her movements, and Dana couldn’t help smiling into his neck. She was _so_ going to lead the deposition.

Just as he settled into a rhythm, thrusting up against her as she patiently worked on a very promising hickey, she drew her mouth away and changed her movements, circling her hips instead and pulling off first her own blouse and then his undershirt before pressing close again and kissing him full on the mouth. The lace on her bra cups rubbed against his nipples as they made out and she could feel his cock getting harder and hotter with every movement.

“Scottie,” he mumbled when they broke for air. “Mmmm, you gotta gimme a minute.”

“Can’t take it anymore? I knew it; you’re getting old,” she teased, but Harvey shook his head.

“I have to wear these pants to the deposition,” he replied, “and if I don’t take them off now they’re going to be wrinkled.”

“Wrinkled, yeah, that’s what you need to worry about,” she said dryly, but she obediently lifted her hips so that he could open his pants and push them down – where they fell to the floor in a pile and yeah, _wrinkling_ was his primary concern.

“Might as well get rid of these, too,” she commented, pulling off his boxers, and in return he reached behind her and popped the snap on her bra with one hand while tugging on the waistband of her panties with the other. “I got it,” she said quickly, standing and taking them off. “Stockings, too, or you want me to leave them on?”

“Leave them,” he told her, pupils blown wide as his eyes raked over her body. Dana laughed at his obvious staring and gave him a cheeky smile as she turned, slowly, and posed for him.

“You get a good look, Harvey?” she joked, but even she could hear the huskiness of arousal in her own voice. He nodded slightly, eyes still fixed on her, so she walked back to the couch to straddle him again. Almost immediately his mouth was on her, tracing patterns over her collarbone and moving down to tease her nipples. The action sent sharp stabs of pleasure through her body, and she moaned and ground her hips into his.

“Scottie,” he panted, a picture of frustrated energy as he tried to get more and more friction. Dana pushed close once more before deciding to give in to what they both wanted. She lifted her hips, guided him between her thighs, and slowly sank down on him. Harvey’s head fell back as she found her rhythm, and his arms wrapped around her to hold onto her as she moved. She was breathless but she kissed him anyway, fighting off the dizziness because she needed him more.

She reached behind her to stroke his balls, feeling them drawn up tight against his body, and he broke the kiss then with a gasp as she moved her hips in tandem with her fingers, steadily increasing the speed and the strength with which she fucked him. Harvey still couldn’t quite seem to catch his breath and his panting only got harsher as she cupped his balls more firmly, the tips of her fingers reaching farther back to tease his perineum.

“Holy shit,” he groaned suddenly, tightening his hands around her waist as his hips jerked up into hers. Dana’s eyes widened as she realized what had just happened, and he confirmed it by quickly moving one of his hands between their bodies and firmly circling her clit with his thumb until she shuddered and pulsed around him. She let him pull her close, then, and they kissed, lingering as he softened inside her.

“So what about that…” she began, curiously, shifting to sit next to him when their position became physically untenable. He shook his head a little.

“I don’t know. It was good, and then it was _really_ good, and then…I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Although you do realize this means I win, right?”

Harvey gave her a slightly sheepish smile.

“I told you we’d know.” 

Dana laughed nicely and rested her head on his shoulder and her arm on his waist for a moment before reluctantly getting up so that she could wash a little in the bathroom. Harvey stayed slumped on the couch, looking drained but also more relaxed than he’d seemed since she’d been in town. The bullshit with Daniel Hardman had clearly hit him harder than he wanted to admit, and though she still fully intended to mock him relentlessly about his, “loss,” she was privately happy mostly that she’d been able to give him some relief.

Shit. She’d just admitted, if only to herself, that Harvey’s happiness meant more to her than winning. She really was nauseatingly in love.

When she’d finished cleaning up and came back out, Harvey had gotten up and started tidying himself. He handed her her underwear without comment – just a smirk and raised eyebrows – and she accepted them as graciously as she could. They dressed in silence, which was unusual for them but strangely comfortable. It seemed the rules really were different when they were on the same side.

“Scottie, is there a mirror on this plane?” he asked suddenly. She considered.

“The one in the bathroom.”

“No, that’s not going to work, that mirror’s too low,” he answered, indicating the tie draped around his neck. Dana laughed.

“Downside of being a tall man on a plane designed for Edward Darby. Want me to do it for you?” She stepped closer, not waiting for an answer, but Harvey backed up.

“I can do it, just…tell me if it’s straight?”

“Sure, you can do it and I can spend five minutes adjusting it, _or_ I can take the thirty seconds to do it myself and make sure it looks good. Besides, I need you to tie the bow on my blouse,” she added, turning around and lifting her hair out of the way to present her neck to him. The introduction of reciprocity was apparently good enough, because Harvey obediently took care of her blouse and then allowed Dana to tie a quick Windsor knot.

“We should probably sit down,” she said as she carefully tucked the knot into place under his collar. “Plane’s about to land.”

Landing was easy – the true beauty of the private jet was not having to go through all the airport bullshit involved in flying commercial – and the car service met them almost at the door to chauffer them to Folsom Foods’ Parkville facilities.

“So you’re really gonna try to take lead on these depositions?” Harvey asked as they got out of the car and made their way to the door of the warehouse. Dana rolled her eyes.

“I told you I’d win,” she reminded him.

“Maybe I let you win,” he countered.

“You’ve never let anybody win anything in your whole life, why would you start now?”

“Now I get to demand a rematch,” he answered suggestively.

“And I get to lead the deposition.”

Before she had a chance to get them both worked up again, though, a mocking voice cut through the room.

“Parkville, Missouri! Of all the places to run into you, Harvey.” Dana and Harvey both turned around to see a short, badly ageing man in a gray suit and incredibly ugly checked purple tie looking at them gleefully.

“Glad you could make it,” Harvey said neutrally.

“I almost didn’t,” answered the man, whom Dana could only assume was Daniel Hardman. “I was on my way to Bakersfield – after all, Harvey Specter had a flight booked there – when, suddenly, I had a thought. ‘What would Harvey do?’ So I checked, and Dana Scott’s flight plan was here. Can’t get around those pesky FAA regulations, can you?”

“I hope you’ve got all the cities covered, ‘cause we’ve got people everywhere,” Dana said calmly.

“Deep pockets,” Harvey added. Hardman didn’t acknowledge him but instead turned to her.

“Dana Scott, a pleasure.”

“I can’t say the same.”

“You do like strong women, Harvey.”

“And you don’t like women at all,” Dana cut in. Harvey’s phone started ringing just as Hardman made a stupid comment about her being _cute_ , and if it wouldn’t make more trouble than he was worth Dana would have seriously considered putting one of her stilettos where it would hurt.

“Oh, I’m just getting a call from my niece who needs help with her homework,” Harvey said, as Dana and Hardman began to walk away. Marcus and Katie’s daughter was less than a year old, though – too young for phone calls and much too young for homework – it must be Harvey’s associate. Best to leave him to it, though, Dana figured, and continued to lead Hardman away.

“I really am pleased to meet you, Ms. Scott,” Hardman said as they headed for the conference room. “If I’d had my way we’d have hired you over Harvey all those years ago.”

“Oh, so I owe Jessica Pearson for the fact that I never had to work for you? I’ll have to send her a fruit basket.”

Hardman laughed and shook his head.

“And I do see why he likes you. Ahh, yes, here we are,” he added, gesturing to a pretty Indian woman about Dana’s own age. “Ms. Mitchell, this is Dana Scott, co-counsel for the plaintiff. Ms. Scott, Cathleen Mitchell.”

“Pleased to meet you,” said Dana politely, dropping her handbag on the floor next to the table and reaching out to shake the woman’s hand.

“Likewise,” she replied coolly, letting Hardman lead her to a seat on the other side of the table. Before anyone had had a chance to sit down, though, Harvey walked into the room looking strangely calm.

“Ms. Mitchell, this is Harvey Specter. He’s co-counsel for the plaintiff on this case, but I’m going to be taking the lead on this deposition.” She didn’t bother reversing the introduction because Harvey had already reached across the table to shake the woman’s hand.

“All right, then, are we all settled?” Dana asked crisply, looking from Hardman to Mitchell to the court reporter, and then to Harvey at her right. He gave a slight nod.

“Great. As of now we are on the record. I’m Dana J. Scott, representing the plaintiff.”

“Harvey R. Specter, representing the plaintiff.”

“Daniel Hardman, representing the defendant.”

They swore Cathleen Mitchell in, and Dana took a deep breath. Without a smoking gun, this wasn’t going to be easy. Luckily, the first few questions were.

“Please state your full legal name.”

“Cathleen Tara Mitchell.”

“Your address?”

“15 E. First St, Parkville, Missouri.”

“And your employer?”

“Folsom Foods.”

“What is your title, Ms. Mitchell?”

“Vice President, Regional Services.”

“And how many management positions are there in your region?”

“Six hundred and twelve.”

“And how many of those are women?”

“Forty-one.”

“Forty-one out of six hundred twelve – that’s, uh, six-point-six percent.”

“Six-point-seven, if you round up,” interjected Hardman.

“Let’s not. And who sets the hiring policy?”

“The hiring policy is that we hire the best applicant for each job.”

“I’m confused, are women inherently inferior, then?” Dana asked, furrowing her brow and laying on the sarcasm.

“No.”

“Well, then why is it that your company doesn’t want to promote women into positions of power?”

“ _I_ am in a position of power.”

“Yes, but you’re not exactly like other women, are you?” Harvey asked suddenly, cutting in. Dana jerked her head to look at him, but his face was unreadable.

“Harvey?”

“You applied four times for management, and you’ve been rejected every time, due to reviews containing the terms, ‘aggressive,’ ‘hostile,’ and, ‘overly ambitious,’” Harvey continued, while Cathleen Mitchell squirmed slightly. “And then suddenly, you were, ‘dedicated,’ ‘hard-working,’ and, ‘a team player.’”

“People change, Harvey,” Hardman answered. “And the last I checked, you have to ask a question.”

“I will, and it’s about that change. Were you diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2009?”

“That is not relevant,” Hardman insisted.

“Are you married?”

“What does that – ” Mitchell began, but Harvey wasn’t done.

“Do you have any children?”

“No.”

“ _Can_ you have any children?”

Dana shifted uncomfortably. It wasn’t necessarily the wrong line of questioning, but…

“This is beyond the pale, Harvey, even for you,” said Daniel Hardman with outrage that was _almost_ believable.

“Should I read your deposition of Jessica Pearson from two weeks ago?”

“That’s a different case and inadmissible here.”

“Did you, or did you not have a hysterectomy that rendered you unable to have children nine months before you were promoted?”

“She’s not going to answer,” Hardman insisted.

“Maybe not today,” Harvey admitted, “but it _will_ become part of the record. Hanley Folsom only promotes women whose attention to home and family isn’t in question.”

“Except for one thing, Mr. Folsom didn’t know,” Mitchell countered.

“So you say.”

“He didn’t know because I didn’t tell anybody, because it’s my business.”

“Still, he found out, and that’s why you were promoted.”

“Harvey, that’s enough,” Dana said softly, turning to face him but still watching Cathleen Mitchell’s stricken face out of the corner of her eye.

“Will you look at that, Harvey? Even Ms. Scott understand that being childless and unmarried doesn’t make you damaged goods,” Hardman said, and Dana looked down, wanting to shut him down but keeping it in check.

“But if that’s how you’re framing your argument, good luck. We’ll see you in Bakersfield…and everywhere else.” He stood, and so did Cathleen Mitchell, an angry, hurt look focused on Harvey as they left the room. For his part, Harvey looked down, almost as if he felt ashamed of himself, but Dana knew better. She turned off the camera, looked at him, and shook her head.

“I can’t believe you,” she said quietly once it was clear that the court reporter was no longer typing. Harvey sighed, putting on his scarf and coat and handing her hers.

“Scottie…”

“Not now,” she said, still quietly, as she put on her coat as well. “Let’s go.” They left the building in silence and walked out into the night, where a car was _not_ waiting because of the abrupt end to the deposition. Dana finally turned to Harvey, anger and frustration bubbling to the surface.

“How could you not tell me that she’d had a hysterectomy?”

“Because I just got the information on my way into the room!”

“You could have taken _five seconds_ to fill me in!” she raged.

“I didn’t fill you in because I wasn’t sure you could play good cop,” he explained.

“Because you weren’t sure that I could play it, or because even when we’re on the same side, you still wanna win?”

“If I told you, you wouldn’t be pissed off. Now you can go to her and call me an asshole with conviction!” Right, because this was the _first time_ Dana had ever thought Harvey was an asshole, and she was completely incapable of tapping into those memories.

“You’re an _asshole_ ,” she assured him, walking away and dropping her purse on a park bench.

“Wait a second,” he said suspiciously as she moved to sit. “You’re accusing _me_ of still trying to win?” He sat down next to her, and even though she wasn’t looking at him she could _feel_ his eyes on her. “You’re the one who’s still trying to win something. You know, I should have known. It’s never the whole story with you. What the hell’s really going on?”

Dana finally turned to him and answered his escalating anger with a cold, even voice.

“You _beat_ me last time. And ever since then, Edward Darby hasn’t seen me as worthy of being a name partner.”

“Cooke would never allow that to happen, anyway,” Harvey said, the venom slowly draining from his tone. “He can’t stand Americans.”

“Cooke retired. And he decided there’s ‘more to life than work.’” Dana rolled her eyes.

“So if you deliver a huge win…”

“I get my name on the door,” she answered with a nod.

“Why didn’t you just tell me that?” Harvey asked, sounding almost hurt. She rolled her eyes again and turned her whole body to face him.

“You always respond to strength,” she explained. “Not weakness.”

“Look at that, you really did fool me,” he said softly. “If I’d known that you were that good a performer, I would’ve let you be good cop.” He was grinning, and Dana couldn’t help bursting into giggles. Harvey laughed, too, and there it was – the years were falling away and it was just like old times.

“Stop,” she protested, but even she knew it sounded more like, “Keep going,” as his hand inched closer to hers.

“Cooke really decided there’s more to life than work?” Harvey suddenly asked, skeptically.

“Yep.”

They paused for a moment, looking out into the street, their bodies close together and somehow more relaxed than they were even during sex earlier.

“Pussy,” they said in unison, shaking their heads.

She’d booked two hotel rooms – for propriety’s sake, and given the comparably low prices of Kansas City, MO’s hotels it barely meant taking a hit – but even when she’d given Linda the instruction she’d known they’d only be using one. Harvey declared his to have the better view and Dana laughed to herself. Even at Harvard, when her apartment had been unequivocally nicer, Harvey had always insisted that they use his space. Just one of the many impossible things about him, and yet here she was smiling at it.

Well, it was hard not to smile when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her as if he had all the time in the world and he wanted to use every moment of it.

“Harvey,” she sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck and arching her back to get closer.

“Scottie,” he answered softly. “I’ve missed you…and I gotta tell you, I’m…I’m really glad you didn’t get married.”

“Well, you know,” she said with a shrug, letting her hands drift until her palms were flat over his jacket lapels. “In retrospect, I waited a whole _month_ after he asked me because I wasn’t sure. Pretty good sign that I _was_ sure I didn’t want to marry him.”

“Scottie?”

“Yeah?”

“Stop talking about him.” He brushed her hair back and leaned in to kiss her again, swallowing her soft chuckle.

“I missed you, too, Harvey,” she told him, tugging his shirt free from his pants so that she could get her hands on his skin.

“He’s gonna make you a name partner,” Harvey said with an affectionate smile as he reciprocated, pulling her blouse over her head, and one-upped her, opening her skirt and pushing it over her hips until it pooled around her feet. “Darby & Scott. You’ve made it.”

“Well, not quite,” she said softly, fumbling now with the buttons on his vest.

“Please, it’s you and me. We’re gonna win this thing. And then you’re gonna get everything you’ve wanted, and planned for, since you were twenty-two. And I couldn’t be prouder.” Harvey’s voice was surprisingly sincere, and Dana’s eyes were pooling unexpectedly with tears.

“Harvey…”

“It’s been a long time coming, and you deserve it.”

“So do you,” she whispered, and he smiled and placed his hands against the small of her back.

“I’ll get there. Jessica’s not going to leave Daniel’s name up forever, and we can’t just be Pearson. People’d start thinking we write textbooks.” He grinned, and Dana groaned.

“You’re so lame,” she said, but she grinned back. “Now take your clothes off.”

“With pleasure,” he agreed, letting his jacket fall to the floor and throwing down his tie before shrugging off his vest.

“Stupid three-piece suit,” she teased. “All that stripping, and you’re still fully dressed.”

“I was giving you a show,” he answered with a grin as he unbuttoned his shirt. Dana laughed and knelt in front of him.

“What can I say; I’m impatient,” she said, smiling, as she proceeded to open his pants. Harvey smirked, and she rolled her eyes and stood back up to strip off his undershirt.

“Me, too,” he answered, catching her around the waist and lifting her into his arms before lowering her gently onto the bed. She laughed, surprised, and looked up at him.

“What was that for?” she asked, grasping his shoulders for a moment before letting her hands slide down his back.

“For Harvard,” he said simply. “For all those times we stayed up late arguing over a pot of coffee and a torts case book, and then couldn’t fall asleep because of all the caffeine so we talked all night about the day we’d be here. Well, we did it, Scottie. We made it. And…I’m glad you’re here with me.”

Suddenly she was blinking back tears again.

“So am I,” she whispered, pulling him close.

No amount of love and delusion could fool Dana into thinking his body hadn’t changed – fifteen years of hot dogs and bagels and a lack of sleep that took a greater toll at forty than it ever could at twenty-five had taken care of that – but it didn’t matter as she clung to him, wanting to touch him everywhere and to feel the warmth coming off him. His mouth came back on hers and they were kissing and touching and it was intimate and playful and nostalgic as she remembered the girl whom no one was going to stop from the point of view of the woman whom no one ever had stopped, and _made love_ to the rival who’d always been on her side. Technically it was probably his rematch, but this time they weren’t keeping score.

\--

She woke to the feel of his body spooned against hers, his arm heavy on her waist, his breath warm on her neck, and closed her eyes to indulge a moment longer in a daydream she hadn’t allowed herself in more than a decade but increasingly hadn’t been able to shut down. Harvey, sleeping late in her bed in the morning; Harvey, editing contracts while sitting on her couch as the TV played at night; Harvey, coming up to New Hampshire to stay on the lake with her parents over the summer, cashing in on the good favor he’d long ago earned with Dad – Harvey, in her life in a way she could hardly believe she genuinely wanted. And might, actually, be genuinely able to have. She smiled a little and shook her head slightly before carefully extracting herself from his embrace and heading over to the bathroom to take a shower. When she came out half an hour later, dressed for the day with her hair and makeup finished, he was still in bed but awake and looking up at her.

“How are you up so early? It’s six o’clock in the morning,” he complained, and Dana shrugged.

“It’s seven on the East Coast, not to mention noon in London,” she answered coolly. “You should get dressed, anyway. We have to get back to New York.” He groaned a little.

“Come on, Harvey, up and at ‘em,” she teased, and he tossed a pillow at her. She caught it and rolled her eyes.

“Get in the shower; I’ll make you coffee.”

“You are seriously no fun.”

“That is _not_ what you said last night,” she sang.

“Hey, last night you weren’t trying to get me _out_ of bed,” he replied, flashing her a quick grin as he did just that. He stopped to kiss her as he headed for the bathroom, and it felt so domestic that she –

Well, she didn’t need to be getting ahead of herself. Just make the damned coffee.

Dana had paid a ridiculous amount of money for a copy of the _Wall Street Journal_ , but sitting at the table reading it and drinking a cup of coffee when Harvey came out of the bathroom in a robe, his hair still wet, was kind of perfect, and _damn_ it, there she was, getting all domestic again.

“You realize your beauty routine takes five times as long as mine does, despite the fact that I have five times as much hair and wear makeup, right?” she said sarcastically without looking up.

“It shows,” he countered cheekily, coming over to pour himself a cup. “Can I steal your newspaper?”

“Spoiler alert, the pope’s retiring,” she said, folding the section and passing it to him. He shook his head and sat down.

“You’re kidding me.” Harvey’s phone went off before he had a chance to get into it, though.

“God damn it, Hardman…” he seethed, glancing at the screen.

“What’d he do this time?” Dana asked, raising her eyebrows.

“He’s trying to get my _pro hac vice_ admittance revoked.”

She snorted.

“In which state?”

“All of them, probably, but today it’s Jersey.”

“Wait, you’ve been practicing in Manhattan since we graduated and you haven’t bothered to get admitted in New Jersey?”

“I practice in M&A and corporate governance, and it’s _New Jersey_. Besides, they don’t have reciprocity.”

“Harvey, _I’m_ admitted in New Jersey, and I haven’t even lived in the States for ten years.”

“Great, then you can sub in for me on the Plainsboro case. And I’d say we’ll just use local counsel for the rest, but we’ll force a settlement before that’s even an issue.”

“Well, that, and Hardman’s _pro hac vice_ everywhere else, himself, anyway. He’s not going to give us a hard time.”

“Seriously?”

“Oh my God, Harvey, one of these days I have _got_ to teach you about these people called, ‘paralegals,’ and this magical thing they can do called, ‘pulling the docket so that you can see what motions have been filed.’”

“You looked at motion practice in every one of these cases from London? Before you ever signed any of them?”

“No, the other day I went down to the thirty-fifth floor, where Pearson Hardman keeps its litigation paralegals, and asked for some help.”

“You don’t even work at Pearson Hardman.”

“No, I don’t, but luckily for me the words, ‘please,’ and, ‘thank you,’ and, ‘equity partner at Darby & Cooke,’ go a long way.” Dana grinned, and Harvey sputtered.

“I never pegged you as someone who sucked up to the paralegals.”

“And _I_ never pegged _you_ at all, but we can change that if you want.” She flashed another grin. “There’s still the plane ride back, after all.”

“Plane ride? Scottie, we don’t have to check out for another four hours, and I’m only wearing a bathrobe.” He pushed the newspaper aside and gave her his best come-hither look, which made her laugh, but she got up and came over to sit in his lap.

“You’re such a pervert,” she said affectionately.

“Hey, you’re the one who brought it up.”

“I guess I’m not opposed to an early-morning workout,” she told him, lightly, as she circled her arms around his neck and lowered her face to plant a soft kiss on his jaw. He tilted his head back, giving her better access, and she took it, kissing up to his ear and then down along his neck as he sighed happily.

“I mean, you did say you could repeat your beauty routine in, what, one-fifth the time mine takes me?”

“I can, and it’s starting to look like I’m gonna have to,” she agreed, as she reached behind her to open the clasp and unzip the zipper on her dress.

“Oh, you are. ‘Cause Scottie? I’m gonna ruin your makeup,” he promised, and she burst into giggles.

“That’s your big threat, Specter? You’re gonna ruin my makeup? You have gone _soft_ in your old age.”

“Care to rephrase that?” Harvey asked, raising an eyebrow and shifting carefully underneath her until it was patently obvious that he was already hard. She shook her head and kissed her way back up to his mouth.

“Mmm…I can’t believe I let you sleep as late as I did this morning.”

“Six o’clock is late for you?”

“It is when we could’ve been doing this. God. How long has it been since you and I had morning sex?” She pushed his bathrobe off, and there was something incredibly titillating about being still mostly dressed while he was completely naked. Judging by how his eyes looked and his dick felt, it was doing it for him, too.

“Morning after the bar exam?” he offered, and she thought about it. Had it really been that long?

“Twelve and a half years. Jesus. And it’s _so_ much fun.”

He stood up, hands underneath her ass supporting her weight, and walked her over to the bedroom to sit back down on the bed. She settled into his lap again and carefully pulled her dress over her head, closing her eyes as Harvey put his lips to her neck, her collarbone, flipping the clasp on her bra and moving down over her breasts. Gently he maneuvered her onto her back, still slowly tonguing her nipples as her breaths got shallower and shallower.

“God, Harvey, yes, do it,” she pleaded, not entirely sure what she wanted except for him not to stop.

“What? I never got to finish breakfast,” he answered cheekily, and though she rolled her eyes and chuckled a little before she knew it he’d moved farther down her body, stripped off her panties, and started going down on her with an enthusiasm that surprised her. She was trying not to read too much into it, but although Harvey had never been anything but a generous lover, she couldn’t remember the last time he had seemed so single-mindedly determined to get her off.

Not that she was really in a position to do much thinking.

Dana moaned helplessly as he kept at it, big hands on her spread thighs holding her firmly against the bed. He looked up at her, hotly, for a moment before getting back to it, not letting up until she was coming on his tongue – and even then, she’d barely had a chance to catch her breath before he was urging her on again and she was digging her fingernails into the muscles of his shoulders, already covered in sweat from the exertion.

“Fuck, that feels so good,” she gasped as he slid two fingers inside her, even as he increased the pressure with his tongue. “God – Harvey – yes, I…oh…” Her eyes slammed shut and her back arched involuntarily as she came again, dizzy and panting and then melting into the sheets as he brought her down gently.

“Oh my God…” she sighed when he finally brought his face out from between her legs, wiping his mouth with the back of his wrist and grinning at her like the smug little shit he was.

“I know, I know; I was amazing,” he said cockily, moving to lie down on his side beside her. She shook her head a little.

“I’ll give you that, because it was, in fact, incredible, but you’re going to roll over onto your back and stop gloating if you want me to do anything about _that_ ,” she said, tapping his erection with a smirk.

He obeyed immediately, and it was almost as good as the orgasms.

Dana leaned over him, resting her palm on his chest as she bent to kiss him passionately, enjoying both the desperation in his kiss and the way his hips reflexively thrust up against nothing. She slowly made her way down his body, shifting so that she was lying between his legs, and then tucked her hair behind her ears and lowered her mouth to him.

She was tentative at first, teasing him and luxuriating in the butterflies that filled her stomach as she listened to his pleas give way to moans. After she’d finished bathing his cock with her tongue she moved lower, gently sucking on and kissing his balls, and then lower still, locking eyes with him and searching for consent for what she was about to do next. His pupils were blown wide with lust and he was breathing hard, which she took as a yes, so she pressed her mouth firmly against his perineum, once, twice, and again, until he was frantic. Then she moved even lower to lick along the edge of his asshole, to gasps and moans and whimpers as she gently thrust her tongue inside him.

“ _Scottie_ ,” he managed, his head thrown back and his hands in her hair. She pulled away for a moment and feigned innocence.

“What? I offered to peg you, but I forgot about my nails.” She dove back in and he let out a helpless moan.

“Scottie, please.”

She gave him a final, stiff lick before kissing her way back up and closing her mouth over his dick. He moaned again, louder this time, and she sucked him hard and bobbed her head with increasing speed, taking him higher and higher until he nearly sobbed as he came down her throat. She held him there for a long moment before slowly pulling off and curling into his side with a contented sigh that he echoed.

“How come we’ve never done that before?” Harvey asked in between deep, steadying breaths. Dana shook her head a little.

“I don’t know; because you never asked?”

“A mistake on my part. Holy shit.”

She looked at him affectionately – okay, _lovingly_ \- for a while as she watched him recover, before sighing and getting up and trying to figure out how to make her clothes and hair and face presentable once more, since they’d be getting off the jet and heading straight into the office.

“And that’s the only downside to morning sex,” Harvey announced, still on his back in the bed. “You have to get dressed and go to work when you’re done.”

Dana grinned over at him from the vanity as she fixed her makeup.

“Well. Today, we do. We didn’t the day after the bar.”

“Because I took the day off, and you were unemployed.”

She opened her mouth to retort and then shook her head with a smile.

“If that’s how you care to remember it, Harvey, by all means.” She walked back over to the bed and presented him with her back. “Do my zipper?” He rolled his eyes but rose to kneeling and dutifully zipped her dress up.

“Great, thanks.” She let her eyes dart quickly over his body before giving him a brief kiss on the cheek. “Now put some clothes on.”

“I don’t remember you being so bossy when you were unemployed,” he said with a sigh as he shuffled out of bed and pulled underwear out of his suitcase.

“Then your memory’s going,” she replied frankly, bundling up her own luggage and then going over to the table to have another cup of coffee as she watched him get dressed.

Returning to New York was more subdued than coming to Missouri had been – Harvey, for all his whining, actually _was_ exhausted, and Dana worried about him for about fifteen seconds before realizing that fussing over the sleep cycle of a grown man was too mollycoddling, even for her and her newfound ooey-gooey lovey-dovey feelings. Either way, he dozed lightly and she got some work done on the brief flight and not-brief car trip back to Pearson Hardman.

“Looks like somebody had a good trip,” Donna said with a smirk as Dana and Harvey walked towards his office.

“Not exactly,” Harvey said.

“Though the plane ride was fun,” Dana pointed out.

“As long as you didn’t hit any turbulence.” Dana locked eyes with Donna on that one and plastered on a fake smile before following Harvey into the office.

“Jessica wants to see you,” Donna called behind them. Harvey turned around and headed for the door.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Actually, she wants to see both of you.”

“Jessica wants to see me, too?” Dana asked, surprised.

“Not exactly. Your boss wants to see you,” Donna amended, and oh, _shit_.

\--

“Hello,” she said as they walked in.

“Ah, Dana,” Edward said, rising to greet them. “And this must be the man himself. Edward Darby.” He reached his hand out, and Harvey shook it with a smile.

“He doesn’t seem stodgy at all, or that old,” Harvey said, turning to look at her, and Dana ducked her head.

“You should see me in my altogether,” Edward said coyly. Harvey glanced at her again and smirked.

“Pass,” he responded quickly.

“Fair enough,” Edward replied, sitting back down. Jessica and Harvey both chuckled as Dana and Harvey moved to sit down opposite them.

“Edward stopped in to take stock of his investment,” Jessica explained. “So how are we?”

“We’re right on schedule,” Harvey answered immediately.

“Dana?” Edward asked slowly.

“We’ve dropped a grenade; we’re just waiting for it to go off,” she answered, looking at Harvey.

“Meaning it hasn’t,” he concluded.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

“Excellent point; I needn’t have crossed the pond.”

“And yet here you are,” Harvey said, eyeing him. The four sat in an awkward pause for a moment before Edward broke the tension with a sigh.

“Well, as I confessed to Jessica, I have an ulterior motive in our little venture.”

“Daniel Hardman,” Jessica clarified.

“I’ve had the distinct displeasure,” Edward explained, drolly.

“So I have asked him to step it up a notch,” Jessica continued, passing Harvey an open folder.

“Nice!” Harvey said with surprise as he began to read. “Attack him on all fronts.”

“We have clients everywhere. Finding a bone of contention with him seemed the least I could contribute.”

“Along with…twelve million pounds,” Harvey said slowly.

“I hate talking numbers. I prefer raking them in,” Edward replied. Harvey still looked incredulous, but Edward wasn’t going to make time. “Well, I’ve done what I came to do,” he said abruptly. “Now I’m going to get out of your way. Nice to put a face to all this, and a lovely face, it turns out,” he finished, nodding at Jessica.

“Thank you, Edward,” she said, smiling, as he stood and shook her hand.

“I was referring to your man,” Edward clarified, and they both chuckled, Harvey smiling like the good sport he wasn’t.

“I’ll be waiting for that detonation,” Edward added, turning to Dana. “I trust it will come through.”

“Mmm-hmm,” she said with a nod. He nodded back and then turned his attention to Harvey before leaving the room.

“Well, I think that just about covers it,” said Jessica smoothly as she stood. “Harvey, I trust you two can handle this?”

“Absolutely,” he said, rising as well. Dana stood, too, suddenly wishing her heels were higher. That would be something to get used to if she did come to New York – unlike Edward, Jessica and Harvey both dwarfed her by quite a bit.

“And, Scottie, a pleasure, as always,” Jessica continued smoothly, offering Dana her hand. They shook and exchanged a smile as Harvey placed his hand gently but firmly on the small of Dana’s back, ushering her quickly out of the office.

As soon as the glass door closed behind them, Dana rolled her shoulders and tossed her hair uncomfortably.

“He seems nice,” Harvey said.

“He was pissed,” she sighed.

“That was pissed? What does happy look like?”

“He’s British; pretty much the same thing.”

“Then how’d you know he was pissed?”

“Wouldn’t you be?”

“I am. We haven’t turned Cathleen Mitchell. Your good cop failed,” Harvey pointed out as they walked into his office and he went to sit behind his desk.

“No, your move failed,” Dana insisted, standing opposite him rather than sitting herself. “Well, Jessica took it well.”

“Because she had company. I’ll hear about it later – Does he do that? Just pop in for a spot of tea?”

“Twelve million pounds.”

“You weren’t expecting him,” pointed out Harvey smugly.

“No, I wasn’t.” She leaned her palms on the edge of his desk and looked down. “But this is a big investment for him, Harvey.”

“His investment is only money. For me, it’s my whole firm.”

They looked at each other for a long moment before being interrupted by a pretty young woman with eyebrows a few shades too dark to let her blonde be believable.

“Excuse me, Harvey, do you have a minute?” the woman asked.

“Sure,” Harvey replied, not bothering to introduce the two women. “What do you have?”

“On July 29, Hanley Folsom made a reference in an email sent from his business account to something he’d mentioned in an email from his personal account,” the blonde answered.

“You want to use this to subpoena his personal emails,” Harvey said slowly.

“Yes,” agreed the woman. “I just figure – ”

“Men who are sexist enough not to want to promote women unless they’re committed to being single and childless probably run their mouths in private,” Dana finished. The blonde looked up, a little confused.

“Dana Scott,” she said, sticking out her hand. “I’m a partner at Darby & Cooke, working on this case with Harvey.”

“Right, of course,” the woman answered, blinking, and belatedly reaching out to shake Dana’s hand. “I’m Katrina Bennett, nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you. And this is good work, thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Thank you, Ms. Scott.”

“Please call me Dana.”

“She’s saying that because she doesn’t like you. People she likes call her Scottie,” Harvey interjected. Dana threw him a look.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Harvey; _you_ call me that.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to – I’ll just – ”

“No, stop, Katrina, _I’m_ sorry. Long story short, I went to the University of Chicago – ”

“ – where fun goes to die – ”

“ – for undergrad, thank you, Harvey. Anyway, there weren’t a ton of women in the program, I wanted to sound tough, and Scottie Pippen was on the Bulls at the time. Name stuck, used it at Harvard, switched back to Dana after graduating but my friends – if you can call _him_ that – from school still call me Scottie. You’re more than welcome to if you want; hell, call me whatever you want – that doesn’t apply to you, Specter– but I wasn’t trying to insult you or cut you out in any way.”

“Um. Okay. Thank you. Anyway…I’ll go draft a motion.” Poor Katrina looked awkward and vaguely alarmed as she scampered off, and Dana threw Harvey another, withering, look.

“Was that really necessary?”

“I don’t like her much.”

“I don’t know whether to be frustrated that you ‘don’t like’ an associate who appears to be completely competent and perfectly polite, or impressed that you have actually gotten to know an associate well enough to know that you don’t like her.”

“I’ll always be on the side of your being impressed by me,” Harvey said with a charming smile. Dana rolled her eyes.

“Given that it’s so rarely the case, I suppose I can throw you that bone.”

He grinned widely and moved closer to her, letting his hands come to rest on her waist and then sliding them down over her hips, and Dana closed her eyes for a second, enjoying it, before pulling away and sitting down on Harvey’s couch.

“We’re still not done,” she said coolly. “Katrina’s idea is good, but we still don’t have a smoking gun, and without one…I really don’t know if we have any kind of shot at turning Cathleen Mitchell.”

“Our case is pretty good without her.”

“Not without proof that he knew.”

“Scottie. Have a little faith. This is us, remember? We’ve got this.”

She smiled and shook her head.

“Okay, Harvey. In the meantime…”

“In the meantime, we’ll go over some of the other cases and see how the contract attorneys have been doing.” He gestured to the couch. “You’re welcome to work here if you want. Probably easier than getting one of the visiting offices set up for you.”

She settled in and started working, but oddly enough _Harvey_ didn’t seem focused.

“Harvey, what’s wrong? Fifteen minutes ago you were going overboard telling me to have faith that we’ve got this, but if you’ve gotten anything done in the past ten minutes, I will promise never again to tell anyone that I graduated ahead of you.”

He sighed and thumped the papers in his hand down on his desk.

“I just can’t believe that Mike didn’t catch this,” he said finally.

“Who’s Mike?” Dana asked, putting down her own work and looking up at him curiously.

“He’s my dedicated associate,” he admitted. She nodded.

“The first-year you were talking about earlier.”

“Yeah. He normally doesn’t miss stuff like this.”

Dana shrugged.

“So go yell at him, if it’ll make you feel better, but either way, it got done.” The words were barely out of her mouth before Harvey had gotten up.

“I wasn’t serious!” she exclaimed, surprised. He shook his head.

“Come on, Scottie, you should be proud. I know _two_ associates’ names, _and_ I’m about to ride one hard because I know he can do better.”

“Harvey Specter: Mentor,” she teased. “Okay, fine, go yell at your associate, but we do actually have to review this work.” He nodded as he left the room, and Dana settled in again, rolling her eyes slightly.

Harvey stayed away for awhile, and just when Dana was starting to think it was time to go looking for him – this Mike kid didn’t deserve an hour of Harvey’s yelling just for taking longer than Katrina to find an email – he came through the door triumphantly, with Jessica Pearson and a slim, good-looking blond guy in tow.

“We got it,” he said with relish. She raised her eyebrows, and Harvey pushed a file folder into her hand. Inside was a printed email from a Gmail account, and as she read through it –

“Holy shit do we ever,” she said coolly. The blond guy jumped in.

“There’s an attachment missing; I haven’t been able to find it yet, but I bet you anything it’s a record of Cathleen Mitchell’s hysterectomy – which could be a HIPAA violation case; once we’ve gotten her to join the suit we might want to – ”

“Okay, getting ahead of ourselves, here,” Harvey cut in, and the kid looked suitably chastened.

“This is your work?” she asked him, and he flushed a little.

“Uh, yeah,” he answered, and huh, that was funny; Dana wasn’t used to humility among lawyers, even junior associates.

“Good for you,” she continued, sticking out her hand. “I don’t think we’ve met; I’m Dana Scott.”

“Mike Ross. I know who you are,” he said, but he shook her hand anyway.

“Of course; you’re Harvey’s associate,” she said with a smile. “Nice to meet you, Mike.”

“You, too, Scottie,” he said, turning to Harvey and adding, “You never told me how much _younger_ she is than you.” Dana burst into laughter and Jessica rolled her eyes at the sudden, indignant look on Harvey’s face.

“All right, as much fun as I’m sure this is, we _do_ have some serious work to do on this case,” Jessica pointed out, her stern tone belied slightly by the sparkle in her eyes. “Namely, we need to get Cathleen Mitchell out here for Hanley Folsom’s deposition tomorrow.”

“I’m on it,” Dana said quickly.

“And I’ll find that attachment,” Mike added, turning and taking off with a nod in Jessica’s direction. Jessica left not long after he did, leaving Harvey and Dana alone in his office.

“I told you to have faith,” he said with a smirk. She rolled her eyes.

“I’m using your phone to get Cathleen Mitchell,” she announced.

“You know how to get an outside line?” he asked, surprised, as she dialed. Dana laughed.

“Sure, Harvey. You just press ‘9.’”

What little was left of the day passed quickly, and once Mike returned, victorious, with the possibly-HIPAA-violating attachment, it was essentially all over – there was no way any woman with a shred of self-respect would continue to defend her employer after this.

“Ready to call it a night?” she asked, stacking the files for Cathleen in a neat pile and looking over to Harvey. He raised his eyebrows.

“My place or yours?” She shrugged.

“Well, Edward’s paying my hotel bill, but then again, _you’re_ paying your property taxes. I assume.”

“My place it is, then.”

“Harvey, wait, we have _barely_ eaten anything today, and I’m starving. Let’s get dinner first.”

He looked her up and down and smirked.

“I’m thinking takeout,” he declared. Dana shook her head with a smile.

“We’ve had sex three times in the past two days and you can’t take two hours for dinner?”

“I guess I’m not as old as you think I am,” he retorted, packing his briefcase and offering her a cheeky grin. “You still like peppers and onions on your pizza?”

“And I assume you still like _every kind of meat_ on yours?” she said, giving in.

“I knew we were on the same page.”

\--

The deposition went so perfectly that it didn’t even happen. Dana gave Cathleen the folder and watched as Hanley Folsom and Daniel Hardman got off the elevator only to be met by Jessica, Harvey, and Mike. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she got the gist of it enough to smile broadly at Folsom’s and Hardman’s discomfort – and, of course, to wipe the smile off her face when Cathleen looked up at her in distress.

“I can’t believe it,” she said, shaking her head. “That – ”

“‘Asshole’?” Dana supplied. “‘Dickhead’? That’s my favorite, personally. Look, Cathleen, I’m sorry for what happened at your deposition. Harvey’s a bit of a dickhead himself, to be honest. The difference is, he was being a dickhead on your behalf because he _knows_ you can do your job. And that you could’ve done it with a fully functional reproductive system, too.”

“Right,” said Cathleen faintly, and Dana sighed and sat down next to her.

“I know this is a lot to take in,” she said. “But listen, Cathleen, you’re still great at your job. You should be working for someone who understands that without having to look at your personal gynecology records. Join our suit and help us take him down.” She pushed an engagement letter over and handed the other woman a pen. Cathleen nodded slightly and signed it.

“I don’t know what to say,” she said softly. Dana shrugged.

“Hanley Folsom is a dickhead?” The woman finally smiled.

“Yeah, let’s go with that.”

They were cut off when the others came into the conference room, sans Folsom or Hardman. Jessica was calm and reassuring; Mike started babbling something about HIPAA, but Harvey caught her eye and she smiled, going over to him.

“I have to help Jessica wind some of this down, but there’s no reason for you to be stuck here any later,” he said quietly. “Why don’t you go back to your hotel, put on one of the sexy cocktail dresses I know you bring with you everywhere, and let me meet you for a drink in the lobby once we’ve wrapped this up, maybe in an hour?”

She smiled up at him and nodded.

“Sounds good,” she agreed, turning to the room and making her excuses before she left.

\--

Just as Harvey had anticipated, she had a number of cocktail dresses in her luggage, and though it was a bit of a cliché – not to mention the color she’d been wearing for two days straight – she picked a low-cut black dress and put it on, briefly touching up her hair and makeup before heading downstairs and settling in to wait for Harvey. She was a few minutes late, but it turned out he strode in even later. No reason to let him off the hook.

“You’re late,” she called out to him as he came to sit down. “That’s not going to get you out of buying me a drink first.”

“No more bullshit,” he responded flatly.

“What?”

“I just left Jessica and your boss, and I know what I saw. They’re in bed together, and I don’t mean having sex. They’re talking merger.”

“It’s not what it looks like,” Dana said, shaking her head, but he wasn’t looking at her hair and he wasn’t looking at her cleavage and yep, this was happening.

“Hardman can check a plane, and I can check a plane. Edward Darby flew here the day you did. He didn’t just pop in.” Dana took a long sip of her drink.

“He wasn’t supposed to do that,” she said, but there was no stopping Harvey when he got riled up.

“You don’t want your name on the door. You want your name on _my_ door.”

“I want to see our names on the same door.”

“Yeah, like I said, it’s never the full story with you.”

“I wanted to be able to tell you myself.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because he wouldn’t let me until he decided,” she said earnestly, but Harvey wasn’t budging.

“Well, evidently, he decided without you.”

“Okay, okay, he jumped the gun, but I have his promise, Harvey. If we merge, he names me as partner, and Jessica’s _only choice_ is you.” And surprisingly enough, Harvey seemed to be taking that even worse.

“I don’t need you to get my name on the door any more than I need you to win this case,” he said, self-righteousness creeping in.

“You know what, Harvey? You have been outgunned ever since Hardman left. I am bringing the guns. This is exactly what you’ve always wanted! Get over your pride!”

“I’m not getting over anything,” he said, standing. “And this merger isn’t happening.” And for the way-too-many-th time, Dana was left blinking back tears as Harvey Specter buttoned his overcoat and walked away.


End file.
